Love Me Harder
by Blissful Illusions
Summary: It had been some years since they first met each other. They thought that they shared only one common motive: to serve the village. But it seems that they were fated to share more than what meets the eye. She loved him unconditionally, but he only remained indifferent to her emotions. Only emptiness awaits them. (Lyrics belongs to artist Ariana Grande's single "Love Me Harder")


"_Tell me something I need to know…" _She wanted to hear the truth no matter how painful it might be to confront.

Anything…

Anything but those bittersweet lies once more.

"_Then take my breath and never let it go." _His presence captivated her entirety.

"_If you just let me invade your space…"_ She breathed softly into his ears as she embraced him from behind and allowed her hands to sensuously trace his toned abdomen downwards.

"_I'll take the pleasure, take it with the pain."_ Their relationship was detrimental and it seems to bring upon no means of a content conclusion.

She knew exactly what she was getting herself into when she chose to love him unconditionally. She knew of the risks and was willing to gamble even with knowing the high possibilities of only attaining unfavourable endings.

_And if in the moment I bite my lip…_

He never saw her as someone he could confide to. He only saw her as another subordinate.

Despite her equal years of servitude as a kunoichi, compared to his maturity she still remained a young child. They were the same age, but the experiences each of them endured set their mentality apart.

The fact that she was still not quite on par with him pestered her consciousness.

_Baby, in the moment, you'll know this is…_

He sensed her unease and looked at her with a concerned expression.

Fool…he was the one, out of the two, who infiltrated in greater danger.

_Something bigger than us and beyond bliss._

They had no luxury of falling in love like normal people. They never had gone through the stage of reckless naive passion. They never had a haven to seek refuge in each other's love.

Life is cruel.

The Shinobi world is forbidding of any gratification or indulgence.

This was their world.

_Give me a reason to believe it._

However, he seemed to always assure her that things will get better. He made everything brighter, even though their world was drenched in hatred and bloodshed powered by only by unforgiving sins.

He was her hope.

_'Cause if you want to keep me, you gotta gotta gotta gotta got to love me harder_

She feels like she is slowly slipping away. No matter how much she loved him, it was only one-sided.

Their love making- no…was it even love they mutually shared?

His handsome features remain unaffected as he thrusts himself restlessly into her core. It was rhythmic, but at the same time it was also mechanical. His expression was unresponsive even with her desperate pleas for a display of any emotion.

There was no affection. There was only the need to release bodily tensions.

_And if you really need me, you gotta gotta gotta gotta got to love me harder_

She had been starting to experience regret for a long time now. Why had she fallen for a man so selfless that he would even forsake her for the greater good? Why did she choose to love a man who was so ill-fated?

He moaned-no…was that sweet sound meant for her?

His groans were generic as no exchange was sweet and comforting words were exchanged between them. He was a man of very little words and his groans were only used as a way for him to signify her of his impending release.

He didn't want any offspring. He already had enough complications in his life and he held no desire for more.

_Gotta love me harder…_

The dilemma was breaking her.

_Love me, love me, love me_

Please, she begged for him to show her his true self.

_Harder, harder, harder_

Did he even truly care for her?

* * *

><p>"<em>I know your motives and you know mine." <em>He eventually spoke up after a long period of silence after coitus.

Finally…

Finally, after so long.

"_The ones that love me, I tend to leave behind." _This wasn't the first time he had warned her of his tendencies.

"_If you know about me and choose to stay…" _Why did his voice trail off so meagrely?

"_Then take this pleasure and take it with the pain." _It was his brief explanation of the suffering she still had to endure if she were to continue to stay by his side.

He warned her. He never wanted to see anyone hurt, but she had always been so insistent. Her headstrongness may have been one of the factors contributing to his unusual fondness for her. They say opposites attract, and now he believed it.

_And if in the moment you bite your lip…_

He knew something was wrong from her habitual expression.

He was an assertive individual who paid immense attention to details. Her innocence radiated off of her exquisiteness.

Her warm persona seems to warm him from his reservations.

_When I get you moaning you know it's real…_

He felt pathetic for using her to attain release from his biological needs.

Pitiful…he overcame so many obstacles, but in the end he fell to basic fulfilments.

_Can you feel the pressure between your hips?_

He was trying desperately to please her body. He knew that the man would find release with little stimulation as long as it was present. He wanted for her to feel satisfied as well because he didn't want to exploit her to his own gains.

He had done so many hurtful things to her already.

He wasn't sure if he could continue on this destructive path.

Deep down, he didn't want to lose her.

_I'll make it feel like the first time._

She had surrendered herself to him. She bared all her vulnerabilities before him with no hesitation.

The first time he became intimate with her was because of love.

_'Cause if you want to keep me, you gotta gotta gotta gotta got to love me harder_

This time was different than the ones before. For the first time, he truly opened his eyes and saw her distress at their bitter situation.

Had she been in woe at this time?

"_Imma love you harder" _He whispered into the thick air as he made eye contact with her tearful eyes.

_And if you really need me, you gotta gotta gotta gotta got to love me harder _

He had always thought that he could face the world and its challenges alone. At last, he understood just how lonesome and despairing he was.

What would become of him if she were to disappear from his life?

"_Love me harder." _She replied with sincere bliss.

_Love me, love me, love me_

He leaned towards her figure beneath him.

_Harder, harder, harder_

It took everything for him to accept himself and his intentions.

_Love me, love me, love me_

His lips touched her.

_Harder, harder, harder_

This gesture was not in a frantic fury or need, but it was tender and heartfelt.

* * *

><p>"<em>So what would I do if I can't figure it out?" <em>He knew there was no such thing as a happy ending for him in this life. Perhaps in the next he may have earned it.

He didn't want to leave any more empty promises.

"_You got to try, try, try again" _She didn't need to say anything was her melancholy expression showed everything.

She didn't want to lie to herself anymore.

"_So what would I do if I can't figure it out?" _He already knew his fate. After all, it was him who planned every single detail.

It was an ending where hopefully she was not involved with.

"_I'm gonna leave, leave, leave again" _Her beautiful face creased in a moment of uncontained sorrow.

Was this really the end for them?

_'Cause if you want to keep me, you gotta gotta gotta gotta got to love me harder _

She rested her head on his chest as they sat up in bed while silent tears escaped from the premises of her luminous eyes.

_Imma love you, love you, love you_

Feelings were so trivial as they interfere with the ongoing process of life. Needless to say, it was an emotion that did not belong to a person who dedicated their entire life to such a deadly art.

Their kind was never meant to obtain nor express such an emotion.

_And if you really need me, you gotta gotta gotta gotta got to love me harder _

He attempted his best to soothe her sorrowful state as he cooed and rubbed her back tenderly.

_Love me, love me, baby_

She never wanted much. Just give her a loving husband to spend the rest of her mortality and a few gleeful kids to cheer her in her darkest times, and then she would be content.

She just wanted to be with him.

_'Cause if you want to keep me, you gotta gotta gotta gotta got to love me harder _

He can't help but to feel a deeply embedded sense of remorse as he gazed upon her desolate state.

"_Love me harder." _She whimpered.

_And if you really need me, you gotta gotta gotta gotta got to love me harder _

It hurts…he always ends up harming those who he cares for the most.

"_Imma love you harder." _He swore, but it was groundless.

_Love me, love me, love me_

They were too young to ache from such anguish and despair.

_Harder, harder, harder_

They were too young to understand such a lasting sentiment.

_Love me, love me, baby_

Their bond was fading as his life force was fleeting.

_Love me, love me, love me_

She couldn't continue on like this, and he understood her intentions.

_Just a little bit, just a little bit harder, babe_

Somehow, they both had hoped that time would remain stagnant awhile longer so they could cherish this moment.

_Harder, harder, harder_

It was hard for everything to come to a conclusion after so long…

It was hard to face the reality of their circumstances…

It was hard for them to part ways…

It was hard to love.

* * *

><p>(Lyrics are taken from artist Ariana Grande's "Love Me Harder")<p> 


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